


In the Blood

by Python07



Series: If Looks Could Kill [13]
Category: Forever (TV), The Musketeers (2014)
Genre: Crack Crossover, Fluff and Angst, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-25
Updated: 2016-08-25
Packaged: 2018-08-11 00:40:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,271
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7868329
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Python07/pseuds/Python07
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Richelieu owes the twins a story.</p>
            </blockquote>





	In the Blood

The room was dark except for a lamp on the stand in between the twin beds and a candle on a holder by the door. The moonlight streaming through the window created eerie shadows.

Louise was in one bed and Etienne the other. They looked at each other. “We finished our lessons,” she whispered. “I thought we were going to get a story.”

Etienne just shrugged.

“It was a time long before ours. There was a great serpent, a hydra. His name was Azidahaka. His name means ‘fiendish snake’ or ‘biting snake’.”

They grinned at the sound of Richelieu’s dramatic voice. Etienne sat forward eagerly. Louise brought her knees up to her chest and held her covers up to her chin.

Richelieu stepped into the room. He looked at them gravely as he held his arms out. “He was a three-headed serpent with three mouths, three separate faces, six eyes, and three sets of fangs.”

Two pairs of eyes grew wide. Etienne grinned wider. Louise bit her lip in as much anticipation as fear. 

Richelieu made a show of looking about the room, checking all the shadows, before he sat on a chair between the beds. “Each head represented something different: pain, death, and anguish.”

Etienne bounced in place. “Does he have wings, like a dragon?”

Richelieu whistled. “Wings so vast they covered the heavens.

Louise hugged her pillow to her chest. “And scales, like a snake?”

Richelieu leaned in close to her and lowered his voice. “He was covered in scorpions and lizards and his body was full of vile, dangerous creatures.”

Louise shivered but giggled at the same time.

Richelieu paused. He looked around again before arching an eyebrow. “He was one of the most infamous demons of the East and set out to overthrow the first man.”

Louise hugged her pillow tighter. “Adam?”

“In the East, he’s called Yima.”

Etienne rolled his eyes. “This isn’t the Bible. It’s just a story, Louise. So what happened with the dragon?” 

Richelieu patted her knee and winked at her. He sat back in his seat. “Atar, the fire god, came to do battle with the dragon.”

“Fire god?” Louise squeaked. “Like the devil?”

“No,” Richelieu answered immediately, soft but firm. “Not all fire is bad.” He smiled kindly at her and she grinned back. “This fire is sent from the creator. This fire means purity and truth. This fire is knowledge and protection. It is the fire in the hearth, to keep you from freezing in winter.”

“He must be big,” Etienne chimed in. He was still bouncing in place. He held his hand up above his own head. “With a crown of fire.”

Louise couldn’t seem to help herself in mirroring her brother’s excitement. She swung a pretend sword. “And a flaming sword.”

Richelieu motioned with his hands like a puff of smoke. “And he could move like smoke. He was the light to battle the dragon’s darkness.”

“What happened?” the twins chorused.

Richelieu used a scaled down version of the voice he used in his most dramatic sermons. “The battle raged over land, sea, and air. The Earth itself shook. The seas foamed and roiled with the force of their clash.” He paused. The twins sat forward and so did he. “Finally, Atar had the upper hand but he couldn’t destroy Azidahaka. Instead, he imprisoned the dragon in chains in Mount Damavand.” He dropped to a conspiratorial whisper. “Where Azidahaka is said to be to this day, causing earthquakes during his attempts to escape.”

In that moment, with them looking at him in rapt attention, Richelieu saw shades of Lia and Marcus and Obie, and Maria and…. He ruthlessly stopped that line of thought. He had no desire to revisit old ghosts.

Louise swallowed. “But he can’t get out.”

Richelieu blinked. He gave her a reassuring smile. “He hasn’t yet. I doubt he wants to face Atar again.”

Louise sighed in relief. “I suppose not.”

Etienne whooped. “I want to go to the East.”

“Not now, you don’t,” Henri said in amusement.

Richelieu glanced over his shoulder to see Henri standing in the doorway, watching them. He stood and moved the chair against the wall. “Grandfather’s right. Time to go to sleep.”

The children groaned. “Do we have to?”

“Yes, you have to.” Henri limped over to the beds. He kissed each of them on the forehead. “Good night.”

They yawned together. “Night.”

Richelieu fell into step with Henri on the way to the sitting room. Richelieu closed the door and went to stoke the fire while Henri tried to get comfortable in his chair. Then Richelieu got them each a glass of wine. He handed one to Henri and settled in the chair next to him.

Henri sipped his. “You said that you owed them a story.” He chuckled. “But a fire god?”

Richelieu laughed quietly. “I spent many years in my youth in the East. The fire god was one of their most important deities. He had many names and incarnations.”

“You certainly had them spellbound.”

“I didn’t tell them the last part of that tale.”

Henri looked at Richelieu quizzically. “What?”

Richelieu sipped his own wine. “At the end of days, Azidahaka will break free from his prison to wreak havoc on the world and destroy a third of the world’s population before he is finally defeated.”

Henri shook his head ruefully. “You’ll live to see if that’s true. Thankfully, I won’t.”

Richelieu relaxed in his head and put his head back. “I have seen many strange, wondrous things in my life, but never a dragon.”

Henri took on a warm, solemn tone. “Thank you for all you’re doing for Etienne and Louise. You’re good with them.”

Richelieu shrugged that off. He didn’t raise his head. “They’re eager students.”

“Can I ask?” Henri trailed off. He took a deep breath and continued, “How many children have you had in your long life?”

Richelieu’s eyes snapped open. He met Henri’s gaze. “Twelve,” he answered, low and rough. “Only my first was by blood.”

“Twelve in 1600 years.”

Richelieu couldn’t stand that compassionate gaze. He turned his attention to the fire. “It’s hard to watch your child live and die.” He swallowed. “My last, my Cesare, I picked up in the streets of Florence when he was six. He died at the hands of the Spanish at Colombaia.” He shook his head. “I tried to dissuade him from fighting, but he was a young idealist. I went with him and I held him at the end. The look in his eyes.” His voice was barely audible. “I’ll never forget it.”

Henri winced. “I’m sorry.”

“You have nothing to be sorry for.” Richelieu ran a hand through his hair and sighed heavily. “Sextus calls me a fool when I get attached. I suppose I am.”

Henri jumped on the change of subject. “Any new news from Sextus?”

“No,” Richelieu growled. “He’s being annoyingly quiet. He simply says that he still can’t get away. He’s stopped giving me details.” 

“He must be busy, waiting on the King.”

Richelieu grunted at that. He shifted in his seat, suddenly unable to be still. “Something’s wrong. I know it, but he doesn’t want to tell me. He doesn’t want me to get hooked back into that life.”

“Paris is only a two day ride,” Henri pointed out carefully.

“I can’t get involved.”

“What if he needs you?”

Richelieu stood and began to pace. “I can’t have anyone recognizing me.”

One end of Henri’s mouth quirked up. “So, stick to the shadows. I know you know how. You and Sextus. It’s in your blood.”

**Author's Note:**

> I found a dragon website where I got the most of the story about Azidahaka: http://www.blackdrago.com/fame/azidahaka.htm#footnotes12


End file.
